Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Visiting the Temple Fair
220 Temple Fair Visit
Liu Baixue remained expressionless throughout. When Liu Baian finally stopped talking, she poured him a cup of water. "Brother, are you thirsty?"
Seeing Liu Baixue’s demeanor, Liu Baian knew she hadn’t absorbed a single word he’d said.
Liu Baixue looked at Liu Baian seriously. "Brother, I’m nine years old now, only two years younger than you. I can distinguish between good and bad. Can you please trust me?"
Meeting his sister’s gaze, Liu Baian finally relented. He accepted the teacup Liu Baixue offered and drained it in one gulp. "Fine, I trust you. Just be mindful of your limits. If anyone bullies you, tell me, and I’ll stand up for you!"
Liu Baixue smiled. "Alright. Oh, by the way, I was just about to taste these vegetables. Would you like to join me?"
Liu Baian glanced at the raw radish slices, shivered, and stood up. "No, no thanks."
These aren’t those sensational medicinal vegetables from the Capital City. Eating them raw like this? Terrifying!
With that, he fled in haste.
What he didn’t know was that he had truly missed out on the medicinal vegetables he had been longing to taste. Mainly, medicinal vegetables were incredibly rare, not something one could buy simply by having money. Back when the medicinal vegetables had just become available, his sister was in poor health. Their father had to pull many strings and move heaven and earth just to buy a small plateful from Guang Ju Restaurant in the Capital City. There were only a few pieces on that plate; each bite was truly worth a thousand gold pieces. Therefore, he would never in a million years connect medicinal vegetables with those grown by a mere farming family.
It had to be said, the world could be so fantastical at times. And this was, indeed, the truth. By the time he found out, it was already much later. Only then did he realize what an incredibly generous gift that basket of vegetables sent to his sister had been! And to think I actually looked down on them back then! More importantly, he also learned that his father and his Uncle had both eaten the vegetables sent that day. He was the only one who hadn’t. Oh, the regret!
Of course, all this came to light much later.
At that moment, Liu Baixue didn’t eat the vegetables. Instead, she had the gossiping maidservant sold off. Even if Liu Baian hadn’t said anything, she knew who had been talking to him. She wasn’t like her brother, soft-hearted and lacking decisiveness. Only after dealing with the maidservant did she return to carefully examine the vegetables.
「——」
Meanwhile, Zhao Zhitong’s family, who had sent the generous gift, was happily visiting the temple fair.
As expected of a grand temple fair, it was extremely lively and packed with people. A stage was set up in front of the temple, where an opera was in full swing, with the sounds of singing and music filling the air. The crowd watching was immense, and countless snack vendors lined the streets. The adults had come for the opera, while the children were naturally drawn to the street snacks.
The Young Aunt searched for a long time before finding a spot for a stall far off to the side. She spread a cloth directly on the ground, took out the handkerchiefs and Tiger Head Shoes from her basket, and arranged them neatly. This was her simple stall. The Young Aunt’s craftsmanship was quite good; the Tiger Head Shoes were embroidered so vividly they looked alive and were utterly adorable. Before long, people started coming over to inquire.
Eldest Aunt and Aunt held the two little ones and kept the older children close, standing by to listen to the opera and making sure they didn’t run off. However, the children were too excited to stand still. Soon, holding hands, they began to look around and explore.
Zhao Dong had placed Zhao Zhitong on his shoulders. She was absolutely thrilled, her little hands waving and her voice babbling nonstop, "Wow, it’s so lively! Look, they’re selling syrup candy over there!"
Syrup candy, also known as sugar syrup, was a kind of sweet treat eaten by twirling it with two chopsticks, and children loved it. Truthfully, Zhao Zhitong wasn’t particularly fond of eating it, but she loved twirling the stick around and around; she thought it was great fun.
Hearing about syrup candy, Sun Daqing and the others instantly grew excited. "Where, where?"
Zhao Zhitong pointed to the area below the stage in front of them. "It’s right next to the stage."
Zhao Dong led the youngsters over and asked loudly, "Sir, how much is your syrup candy?"
Because the old man’s stall was right below the stage, and the sounds of the opera performers singing on stage were very loud, one had to shout to be heard.
Hearing him, the old man gestured with his hand and said cheerfully, "One coin to twirl a stickful."
Zhao Dong said, "Alright, let each of my children have one to twirl!"
"Certainly!" The old man looked up, saw the children lined up behind Zhao Dong, and chuckled. While twirling the syrup candy, he added with a smile, "My, my, robust fellow! Your family is certainly thriving with so many children!"
Zhao Dong just smiled and nodded.
They lined up, and each child got a stick of syrup candy, which they began to eat, twirling it continuously. Because if one stopped twirling, the syrup candy would drip down, Zhao Dong no longer dared to carry Zhao Zhitong on his shoulders; the little girl would surely let it drip all over his head.
The youngsters then hopped and skipped towards Sun Mei and the others.
At this time, Sun Mei was buying pea filling. The vendor selling pea filling was an old woman. She was pushing a handcart, and on it was the pea filling, mounded in a basin. The old woman was cutting a portion for Sun Mei.
Zhao Zhitong said, "Mom, buy some more. Grandfather and Grandmother really love to eat it."
Sun Mei nodded with a smile. Pea filling was very popular at the temple fair; if you were too late, it would be sold out.
Younger Uncle had originally planned to have a good time at the temple fair. However, ever since he’d stuffed 500 taels in silver notes into his robes, he had been completely stiff. He kept forcing himself not to clutch his chest. Now, he was squatting beside the Young Aunt’s stall, helping her sell embroidered handkerchiefs and Tiger Head Shoes. He didn’t dare go anywhere and suspected everyone of being a thief.
After Sun Mei bought the pea filling, she carried it, wrapped in a lotus leaf, to the Young Aunt’s stall and handed it to Younger Uncle. "Third Brother, if you’re not going to go look around, please watch our things for us."
Sun Youcai nodded hastily. "Yes, yes, you all go and have fun."
So, Sun Mei, Eldest Aunt, and Aunt took the children, listening to the opera as they ’window-shopped’ their way through the stalls. This was Sun Mei’s first real experience of shopping in ancient times. When she saw pretty hair flowers, she bought one for each of the girls in the family. There were also various masks for sale at the stalls, and each child got one, making them all absolutely delighted.
Seeing this, Eldest Aunt and Aunt felt a pang for the money being spent and tried to stop Sun Mei from buying more.
Sun Mei persuaded, "It’s a rare treat for us to come out and have fun. We’ll just buy things this once."
Thinking about the large sum of money the family had earned that day, Eldest Aunt and Aunt set aside their usual thriftiness and were generous for a while.
After playing for a while, everyone grew tired. They sat on the handcart, playing with their new toys and listening to the opera.
When it was almost noon, the family sat by the roadside, eating the flatbreads they had brought.
Then, Zhao Dong said to everyone, "Later, we need to go to Shili Village to find Yunniang. Elder Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, you can stay here with the children and Third Brother to watch the opera for a while. Third Brother, you’re a grown man, so you must protect the family, alright?"
Sun Youcai felt immense pressure today. The silver notes seemed to scald his chest until it ached, but he still slapped his chest and declared, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely take care of them."
After these instructions were given, Zhao Zhitong and Zhao Ya were lifted onto the ox-cart. The Young Aunt and Sun Mei went with them.
Naturally, Zhao Dong was the one driving the cart.
Once they left the city gate, Zhao Dong drove the ox-cart eastward.